It’s been a little over two months since 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled by TLC after it was determined brother Josh Duggar had molested some of his sisters during his youth. In the time since, the Duggars have still been in the news, thanks to a cousin’s wedding and a couple of the girls popping up in a TLC special about abuse. Despite the bad apple, most of the Duggars are still a well-liked property. Today, we learned the reality-skewing network is bringing back Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald for a brand new project. The two Duggar daughters will pop up in at least two specials on the channel, although more may be in the works.
Currently, the specials are untitled and they will simply follow the lives of the two young women. Jill Dillard’s story is a little more exciting. She, her husband and their baby are actually going to move to El Salvador for missionary work, which should give her a reprieve from the headlines her family has endured for the last several months. Also, doing missionary work overseas is a fairly unique premise for a reality show to follow. Jessa’s story will be a little more basic. During the specials, the new show will follow Jessa and her husband Ben as they prepare for their first baby to come into the world.
The specials will mark the first time that we have seen Jill and Jessa Duggar on TLC since they appeared in Breaking the Silence, which aimed to talk about child sexual abuse. It’s also the first project to be solely Duggar-oriented on TLC since 19 Kids and Counting was yanked off of the air earlier this year. THR’s report doesn’t mention if other members of the Duggar family will pop in during the specials, but since Josh Duggar obviously has had numerous problems of a sexual nature, ranging from touching his younger sisters to cheating on his wife with an Ashley Madison account, I’d say he’s out. The Duggar parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, have also received some bad press since the Josh news first broke.
However, Jill and Jessa obviously weren’t a part of the reason 19 Kids and Counting was axed and are still popular with fans. A few months ago, the channel was even considering putting together a spinoff following the two sisters. While a couple of specials obviously isn’t as big of a deal as a greenlight for a spinoff, if the specials do well for the network—and the Duggars were always a big hit before the scandal—we could potentially see more from the family in the future.
The untitled specials don’t have a premiere date, but filming is expected to begin soon, and fans are expected to be able to catch up with Jill and Jessa before the end of the year. In the meantime, we’ll let you know as soon as TLC settles on an official name for the specials.
